I am at a loss for what to do and am looking for answers. Some days I am at my wits end...My son just turned 4 a couple of weeks ago and I have always suspected he may be gifted from a very early age, well before age 2 even...the problem is along with his giftedness come many behavior issues which mask his true abilities from most people. I have fortunately found a wonderful homeschooling/montessori program for him and his teacher also believes he may be gifted. He just recently figured out how to read while still 3 years old. While he is not proficient at it, he is beginning and did this all on his own. His memory is and always has been astounding. Once he hears something it's like he has an auditory photographic memory. Just today his teacher commented that she brought out a map of the continents which he hadn't seen in over 2 months and he correctly named all of the continents with ease....He gravitates towards music and can recite lyrics quickly and enjoys memorizing songs...He was very verbal early on, speaking clear words by 8 months, saying over 50 words by 15 months and speaking in sentences well before age 2. The issues we are having with him now are that if his mind is not engaged in something that he finds challenging or fascinating, he finds inappropriate outlets to get out his frustrations...he can be physically rough with other kids and excessively loud and disruptive among many other difficult behaviors. At the same time, he can be completely content and focused on his work for hours at a time and be a joy to be around. It is so variable and frustrating! I feel like I parent 2 separate children sometimes....It's like if he even has more than 1 minute of time that he can't figure out something interesting to do, he falls apart...he can play by himself but likes to have something specific to do... Have any other parents dealt with behavior issues? Do these things I am describing sound indeed like he may be gifted? I'm at a loss for what to do!! Sometimes he even acts like he is on the spectrum...which I know that he is not, he just can't socially cope sometimes...He seems to know he is different also and has an advanced sense of self/life in general. His reasoning skills are insane and he is extremely inquisitive about every tiny thing in his world. I feel like I am being interrogated daily...the conversations we have could easily be with a child twice his age. He is very philosophical about life, death, the world in general...but he does feel different than his peers...Upon hearing the Rudolph the red nosed reindeer song he commented "That is not nice of the other reindeer to not want to play with Rudolph just because he is different...I am different too. I will never be the same as everyone else." What are we dealing with here? I go to a new doctor in a couple of weeks and would like to see if we need to get a psychological evaluation or something? What do you recommend? Sometimes he is flat out just out of control...extreme defiance. I fear oppositional defiant disorder as well but hoping this is all part of being gifted...
